Why Relying on One Champion Is Holding You Back (And How to Fix It)!

In the world of complex B2B sales, champions are vital to driving deals forward. However, many salespeople make the mistake of finding one champion and sticking with them throughout the sales cycle. While this approach can seem efficient, it often limits the salesperson’s ability to influence the entire organization. Building multiple champions across the organization is not just a nice-to-have strategy; it’s a must for navigating the complexities of modern sales.

The Problem with Relying on One Champion

Many sellers tend to focus all their efforts on one person, often referred to as the “champion” in the sales process. This person is usually someone who is enthusiastic about your solution and willing to advocate for it internally. While having a champion is critical, it’s risky to put all your eggs in one basket. Here’s why:

• Organizational Silos: Today’s businesses are often structured into silos—Sales, IT, Marketing, Finance, HR, Engineering, and others. If you focus solely on one champion within one department, you may inadvertently miss out on key stakeholders in other parts of the organization who can make or break your deal.
  

• Changes in Personnel: Champions leave. Whether it’s due to job changes, internal restructuring, or other reasons, a champion’s exit can jeopardize the entire deal. This is especially problematic when the deal is highly dependent on that one person’s internal influence.
  

• Lack of Organizational Buy-in: When a deal is championed by just one person, you’re essentially relying on them to sell your solution to the rest of the organization. This can lead to weak buy-in across other departments, increasing friction during implementation and adoption, which can cause delays or failure.

Why You Need to Build Multiple Champions

To truly optimize your sales strategy, it’s essential to build champions in multiple departments across the organization. Having multiple champions provides you with a strategic advantage that helps you in several ways:

1. Cross-Departmental Influence: By developing champions in different departments, you ensure that your solution is advocated for across the entire organization. This creates a strong case for the solution, as various teams can advocate for its value from different perspectives.
   

2. Increased Deal Resilience: If one champion exits the organization, you have others to pick up the slack. Having a network of advocates throughout the company creates a safety net, ensuring that your deal doesn’t stall if one champion leaves.
   

3. Better Understanding of Organizational Needs: Different departments have different pain points and priorities. By engaging with multiple champions, you gain deeper insights into the company’s various needs and how your solution fits into the bigger picture.
   

4. Improved Alignment During Implementation: When multiple departments are on board with the solution, implementation and adoption become much smoother. It’s easier to align different teams around common goals and expectations when they’ve had a hand in the decision-making process.
   

5. More Opportunities for Upselling and Cross-Selling: With multiple champions, you are more likely to identify additional needs within the organization, creating new opportunities to upsell or cross-sell your solution.
   

How to Build Multiple Champions Across the Organization

Building multiple champions is not just about meeting more people; it’s about strategically aligning your efforts to create influence in several key areas of the business. Here’s how to do it, especially if you find yourself siloed within one part of the business:

1. Understand the Key Stakeholders in Every Department

To build champions across the organization, you need to first understand who the key stakeholders are in each department. Here are some steps you can take:

• Do Your Research: Learn about the structure of the organization and the key players in each department. Who makes decisions in Sales, IT, Finance, HR, Marketing, and Engineering? What are their pain points, and how do they measure success?
  

• Ask Your Existing Contacts: Once you identify your main point of contact in one department, ask them to help you identify other stakeholders who will be involved in the decision-making process. A good champion will be willing to introduce you to others who might benefit from your solution.
  

• Leverage LinkedIn: Use LinkedIn to find key decision-makers in each department. Look for individuals with titles such as Director, VP, or Chief of their respective departments. A brief outreach with a personalized message can help you initiate contact.
  

2. Map the Organization’s Decision-Making Process

Understanding how decisions are made in a multi-departmental organization is crucial for building champions. Often, decisions aren’t made by a single person but require input from various stakeholders.

• Understand Who Influences the Deal: Apart from your initial champion, identify others who influence the decision-making process. This could be department heads, senior leaders, or even users of the solution.
  

• Engage with IT, Security, Finance, and Legal Early: These departments are often involved in B2B tech deals, especially for solutions that require integration or have regulatory concerns. Ensure you’re not just engaging with the business side but also with these technical and operational stakeholders early in the process.
  

• Be Transparent About Benefits for Each Department: Tailor your messaging to each department’s unique goals. For example, IT may be concerned with integration and security, while Sales may be focused on user adoption and ROI. Craft your pitch to resonate with these distinct needs.
  

3. Leverage Internal Advocates

Once you’ve identified additional stakeholders, it’s essential to leverage your existing champion to help you build credibility across the organization.

• Ask for Introductions: A great champion can be your ticket to making introductions to other departments. Ask them to help you facilitate conversations with key players in other departments who could benefit from your solution.
  

• Create Value for Your Champions: Offer your champions value in exchange for their help. This could be in the form of additional insights into their pain points, sharing relevant content that helps them do their job better, or providing them with data that supports their internal advocacy efforts.
  

4. Foster Ongoing Relationships with Your Champions

Building champions isn’t a one-time effort. You need to keep nurturing these relationships throughout the sales cycle and beyond.

• Maintain Regular Communication: Keep all your champions updated on your progress, particularly when there are milestones or product updates that may be of interest to them. Consistent communication helps reinforce the value of your solution.
  

• Provide Custom Solutions: Whenever possible, tailor your solution to meet the specific needs of each champion. If you’re working with IT, focus on how your solution integrates with existing systems. If you’re working with HR, show how it can improve employee engagement or reduce turnover.
  

• Celebrate Successes Together: Once the deal closes and the solution is implemented, celebrate the success with your champions. Recognize their contributions publicly (in company emails or meetings) to solidify their support and loyalty.
  

5. Be Prepared to Address Internal Conflicts or Resistance

In large organizations, different departments often have conflicting priorities. IT might be concerned about the complexity of integrating a new solution, while Sales may want a quick fix to their pain points. Navigating these conflicts requires skill.

• Address Concerns Head-On: Engage with stakeholders early and often to understand their concerns. If there’s resistance from certain departments, you need to address their specific pain points and show how your solution can resolve them.
  

• Use Data and Case Studies: Use data-driven insights and case studies to show how your solution has benefitted similar organizations across departments. This can help you gain buy-in from departments that may be initially resistant.
  

• Negotiate Compromise: In some cases, you may need to negotiate between different departments. Find common ground where your solution can meet the needs of everyone involved. Be prepared to make small tweaks or offer phased implementations to meet different departmental needs.
  

Conclusion

Building multiple champions across an organization is a critical component of modern sales success. Relying on a single champion limits your influence, weakens your deal’s resilience, and often results in poor buy-in across the company. By strategically developing relationships with key stakeholders across departments, you increase your chances of closing the deal, ensure smoother implementation, and create opportunities for long-term growth.

Salespeople who can successfully navigate organizational silos, build champions in multiple departments, and align their solutions with various departmental goals will have a significant competitive advantage. The goal is not just to make the sale but to create a broad base of support that will propel your solution to success long after the ink dries on the contract.